Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mount Russell to trail camp

If I am planning on doing mount Russell next summer and then the plan would be to meet my group at trail camp which is where we would spend the night, to then go do Whitney the next day hopefully along with muir. Is there any way to get from upper boy scout lake to trail camp without doing climbing mount whitney or going all the way back down? I looked at pinnacle ridge but the northern side looks pretty steep. Also if those are really the only two options which would you recommend.

I have never seen a report of anyone climbing over Pinnacle Ridge. Looking at the CalTopo map, I see a "Pinnacle Pass" identified a half mile east of Pinnacle Ridge, but again, never seen a report of anyone going over. The contours look like it may be a possibility, though.

I have personally climbed Thor Pk from a point midway between Lower and Upper Boy Scout lakes, and then descended via Mirror Lk.
But you are planning on an overnight at Trail Camp, so you would need to haul your overnight pack up and over. It might be possible if you go ultralight, and are almost superhuman, since you'd be climbing Russell the same day.

More realistic would be to camp one night at UBSL, climb Russell next day, (maybe spend a second night), then haul your pack over Thor Pk or Pinnacle Pass, and meet your group at Trail Camp. You could maybe find a route over Pinnacle Pass with the pack, and then head west around Wotan's Throne to Trail Camp. Once over Pinnacle Pass, you can definitely hike around Wotan's Throne.

Another option: Climb to Trail Camp with your group, climb Whitney and Muir, then from Trail Camp, split from the group, head north and cross Pinnacle Pass or Thor Pk, descend to Upper Boy Scout, and camp a second night. Climb Russell next day and hike out.